


A long night

by PJOwriter



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Nightmares, Three Days in the Infirmary (Percy Jackson)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 16:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17471198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PJOwriter/pseuds/PJOwriter
Summary: Nico has a nightmare.  Will helps.





	A long night

Will sat in his chair in the infirmary. He had drawn the night shift tonight. It was dark and peaceful. All of his patients were sleeping quietly. Most of them had injuries from the war with the giants. But they were healing, a little every day. Will’s thoughts drifted to Nico. Will was worried about him. This was his second night in the infirmary after Will had forced him in here to rest. That fading thing. Will didn't know what to do about it. Hopefully, that issue would go away on its own if Nico got proper rest. He had given Nico a physical when he had first been admitted. Nico hadn't had one in many years. It had been difficult and awkward for both of them, with Nico’s dislike of being touched, and the fact that Will kind of, sort of, maybe, had a bit of a crush on the son of Hades. The results of the examination weren't horrible, but they weren't great either. He was underweight, definitely undernourished. Those cuts on his biceps were definitely infected. Will would have liked to have a word with Reyna about proper cleaning and stitching of a wound, but he supposed they really hadn't had much time or many options. She'd done the best she could. And considering all Nico had been through, he definitely had some degree of depression and likely PTSD as well. Will went over his treatment plan again in his head. As much rest as possible. Actually getting him to eat regular meals. 

He had had to take the old stitches out of the arm wounds. He had prescribed an antibiotic ointment and a small dose of Unicorn draught every day until they healed. As for the mental stuff, he didn't know exactly what to do about it. It wasn't his area of expertise. He decided he would just have to keep an eye on Nico and listen if he wanted to talk. 

Will stood up to make his rounds. All still seemed calm. Then he heard a sound. A whimper. It was coming from Nico’s bed. Will went over to check on him. Nico was still asleep. He whimpered again. Then the whimper turned into a scream. Will knew he had to wake Nico up, but wasn't sure of a way to do it that wouldn't scare him more. “Nico,” said Will, calmly but firmly. “you need to wake up.” He talked to Nico for a few moments, but no luck. He was going to have to touch Nico, much as he knew Nico hated that. He reached out, slowly, and gently touched Nicos shoulder. Nico reacted quickly and violently. Not fully awake yet, he reacted as if to an attack, launching himself out of bed, reaching for a sword that wasn't there, knocking Will over in the process. Nico, still tangled in his blanket, went down too. He looked like a cornered animal, Will thought. He was shaking, and muttering in Italian. 

Will turned on the light, leaving it on its dimmest setting. He began talking quietly and calmly, as though speaking to a frightened animal. “Hey,” Will told him. “Its okay. You're okay. It was just a dream. You're safe here. I'm not going to let anything hurt you.” Nico seemed to be calming, gradually, listening to Will's words. Will continued talking until Nico’s breathing seemed to return to normal and the shaking subsided, though Will could still see the fear in those dark eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes that seemed to see into Will's soul. Will forced himself to focus. He reached slowly toward Nico’s wrist. “I'm just going to check your pulse,” he said. Nico nodded, never taking his eyes off of Will. “It's still a bit fast,” he said. “Okay, let's get you back into bed,” Will told Nico, standing and then helping Nico up. “Do you want to talk about it?” Will asked, hesitantly, once Nico was seated on the bed.

“It was T- tartarus, Will,” Nico said. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears. “There are horrors there… horrors you can't even imagine. No one who hasn't been there could. I can't talk about it… not right now. And not at night. Maybe some day.” 

Will wanted to hug him. Okay, he thought that often, but especially now. He wanted to hold the son of Hades in his arms and never let anyone hurt him ever again. But he knew that wouldn't be appreciated. Instead he asked, “Do you want some tea?”

“Tea?” repeated Nico.

“Chamomile with mint. It always helps me calm down,” explained Will.

“It's worth a try,” Nico decided. 

“Will you be okay here for a few minutes?” asked Will. Nico nodded. Will left to make the tea. When it was ready, he brought back two steaming mugs to Nico’s bedside. He sat in the chair by the bed and they drank their tea in silence. When they had finished, Will took Nico’s cup and laid it on the bedside table. “Do you want to try to go back to sleep now?” asked Will. Nico looked a bit apprehensive at the idea. “You'll be okay,” Will assured him. You're safe here. Nothing's gonna hurt you while I'm around.” Will knew this wasn't necessarily true. He wasn't the best fighter, and even the strongest demigods sometimes couldn't win. But he'd sure try. And Nico knew it. Nico seemed to be calmer now, and he lay down.

Will pulled the blanket back over him and stood to leave the curtained off area around Nico’s bed. But Nico said, “wait!” Will turned back to look at him. “Will, can you stay… please?” Nico said quietly. 

“Of course,” said Will, settling himself in the chair again. 

“Thanks, Will,” murmured Nico sleepily, closing his eyes.

Will smiled faintly. That request was unexpected, but it warmed Wills heart that Nico trusted him enough to want him around while he slept. He looked at the smaller boy. He looked peaceful now. His raven hair looked soft. Will thought how nice it would be to run his fingers through it. He told himself to stop it. Nico was his patient, and maybe, hopefully, his friend. Nothing more. He wouldn't want Will anyway. He was a warrior who could summon armies. He was the prince of the underworld. Will was just a medic. And Nico was probably straight anyway. But Will couldn't help gazing tenderly at him as he sat through the long night.

His sister, Kayla, found him there at dawn when she came in for her shift. “You can go back to our cabin and rest now,” she said. 

Will shook his head. “He had a pretty bad nightmare last night. I told him I'd stay with him. I dont want him to wake up alone.” Kayla nodded and went about her duties. 

An hour later, when Nico woke, he saw Will asleep in the chair. He remembered last night. Had he really made Will stay here with him all night just because he'd had a bad dream? Will would think he was a baby now. But he hadn't seemed to last night, another part of Nico’s brain argued. He’d been so kind, comforting, understanding. Nico looked at the sleeping son of Apollo. He looked peaceful, despite his cramped position. Nico noticed the freckles scattered across his nose. They were kind of cute… Nico commanded his brain to stop it at once. He wasn't trying to have his heart broken again. His brain didnt listen. He had to admit to himself that he might have a bit of a crush on the son of Apollo. 

Will began to stir. He lifted up his head and said, “Good morning, Nico. How you feeling?”  
His fluffy blond hair stuck up in all directions. Nico felt an urge to smooth it down. His eyes were the color of a cloudless day. Nico felt as though he could stare into them forever. Stop! He commanded his brain. He'd never date me. He's a child of the sun, a healer, and what am I? A child of death. A creature of darkness. A freak. And he's probably straight anyway.

Nico forced himself to answer Will. “I feel okay… hey, I'm sorry about last night, for screaming and for knocking you over… and for making you stay. Just because of a bad dream.”

A flash of confusion crossed Wills face. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” he said.  
“You're allowed to be scared, Nico. You're allowed to need comfort sometimes. You're allowed to rely on others sometimes. You have so many people who care about you, Nico, even if you don’t believe it. Hazel, Jason, the rest of the seven, coach hedge, Reyna, Chiron, … and me.”

Nico looked surprised. He answered, “Just because I'm your patient.”

“No,” said Will. “Because you're brave and powerful, and an all around good person. You do what's right because it's right, even when you dont see any benefit for yourself.”

Nico found himself blushing. He hadn't known that Will thought so highly of him. He hoped Will wouldn't notice. 

“And Nico,” Will continued, “dont be ashamed of the nightmares. They don't mean you're weak. Most of us have them, and most of us haven't been through half so much as you have.”

There was silence for a moment. Then Nico asked tentatively, “Do you have them?”

Will nodded.

“What are they about?” asked Nico. “You don't have to tell me, if you dont want to.”

Will answered, “when I was younger, they were about monster attacks and dying. After the titan war, they changed. Now they're about all the people I failed to save.”

“They don't blame you.” said Nico. Will looked at him in surprise. “They're in Elysium.” Nico continued. “They know you did all you could.”

Will looked at him for a moment, and then said, “thanks, Nico.”

Silence for a moment, then, “how do you deal with them?” asked Nico. “The nightmares, I mean.”

“When I was younger,” Will told him, “and my older brothers were still alive, they would comfort me. Lee would sing to me, and Micheal would threaten to kill anything that hurt me. But now they're gone.”

Nico could relate to this all too well. The loss of his sibling, his protector. “Bianca did the same for me,” he told Will. “How do you deal with the dreams now?,” he asked.

“Mostly alone,” Will admitted. “If it's obvious I'm having one, one of my siblings will wake me up, but I try not to burden them too much with my problems. They're all younger than me.” 

Nico shook his head. “You're a hypocrite,” he said. Will looked a little offended. “You tell me it's okay to rely on people. Yet you deal with all your problems alone.” He looked Will straight in the eye and said, “Will, you said it was okay to rely on my friends, okay to rely on you. Well, you can rely on me too. If you ever need to talk, I'll be there.” 

Will smiled gently. He was glad Nico seemed to trust him and view him as a friend. “Thanks Nico,” he said. “That means a lot to me.” Then he asked, “you want some breakfast?” Nico nodded. “Alright, I'll bring you something.”

“I'll come with you,” said Nico. 

Will looked at him sternly. “You're not yet discharged. You will stay here. Doctor's orders.”

“Alright, Will,” said Nico with a slight smile. “It was worth a try anyway."


End file.
